Friday, February 8, 2019

Barrowmaze's Duchy of Aerik becomes Aerik County. It is one of the four counties ruled by the city-state of Surabka (to the north of this map). The map also shows the neighboring Mersic County (administered from Mersicton) and lands (to the south) controlled by Surabka's rival city-state, Igorburg (to the south of this map). There is also an autonomous Dwarven colony, the Krum Tok Vault, nominally a vassal of Igorburg.

Between EY (Elysian Year) 1647 and EY 1651, Surabka and Igorburg fought a bitter war. The main battlefields were in Aerik County and its environs. Krum Tok stayed mostly neutral, only paying taxes to Igorburg to finance the war effort; fighting destroyed the fortified Igorburgian town of Blackfort. Bogtown was the site of another battle, and two battles occurred inside Barrowmoor itself - the First and Second Battles of Barrowmoor. Remnants of battle and bodies - some say, also spirits - of the fallen are common in Barrowmoor, both near Bogtown (where the First Battle of Barrowmoor took place) and directly to the south of the Old Dwarf Bridge (where the Second Battle of Barrowmoor took place).

Worse still, the Yellow Plague swept through the County in the fateful year of EY1659, further depopulating the area and leaving many disfigured.

The result is a devastated, depopulated County, on the beginning of its very long road to recovery. It has three things going in its favor: fertile lands in the County's northern edge; the strong - and virtually untouched - mining economy of Krum Tok, and *drumroll* Barrowmaze itself. The horrid barrow-mounds began attracting adventurers and grave-robbers in the post-War years, as deserters from both armies came home with major treasures and rumors of horrid monsters. Helix, once a peaceful peat-digging and farming community, grew into a rich "boomtown" with adventurers, tomb-robbers, and assorted scum flooded it, as roads from Helix to Barrowmaze are better explored than those from Mersicton (which also saw growth in light of this adventuring craze).

Surabka rules an area of 123 6-mile hexes, a little less than 4,000 square miles. In ACKS terms, it is a mid-sized Duchy, though its ruler calls himself a Prince. Following the plague, average population is 50 people per square mile, or 300 families per 6-mile hex, for a total of approximately 37,000 families.

This is an advanced, urban realm, like the rest of Camalynn, technologically similar to the earlier part of Terra's early modern period. It is also highly centralized around the city-state of Surabka. This means an urban population of 7,000 families, with Surabka itself being home to 4,500 of them, being a Large City (Class II Market). The other 2,000 urban families are distributed between the various settlements, primarily the county seats.

The Duchy of Aerik suffered war and plague and is depopulated. On paper, it has an area of 35 6-mile hexes (approx. 1,000 square miles), making it huge for a county. However, it is mostly uninhabitable Moor. Thus, average population density is 30 people per square mile, 180 families per 6-mile hex, and a total population of approximately 6,300 families. Of them, 950 are urban families; 600 of them live in the fortified county seat of Ironguard, which is a Large Town (Class IV Market) 150 in the devastated Bogtown, a Village (Class VI Market), and 200 in Helix, another Village. However, Helix's "boomtown" economics "upgrade" it to a Class V Market.

Mersicton is the county seat of Mersic County, which has an area of 29 6-mile hexes and an average population of 40 people per square mile, or 250 families per 6-mile hex mostly working in forest-related agriculture. The total is approximately 7,250 families, of them 800 live in urban settlements, of which the largest is Mersicton, a small town of 500 families (Class V Market). Mersicton sees some economic growth from the Barrowmaze "industry", but not as much as the more accessible Helix.

Krum Tok Vault, a Dwarven colony and a nominal (though very autonomous) vassal of Igorburg, controls 19 hexes, mostly of mountain and forest country, an average population of 40 people per square mile, or 250 families per 6-mile hex, for a total of approximately 4,750 families. They are centralized mostly in the industrial town of Krum Tok, surrounding the Dwarven vault, with an urban population of 700 families, of them 475 in Krum Tok, making it a Small Town (Class V market).

Saturday, January 26, 2019

More on my Camalynn setting - and now, on Dwarves. Dwarves build their vaults near underground rivers and/or geothermal vents. This brings a natural power source to the forge's massive bellows and mechanical hammers, as well as other machinery. Thermal vents usually also bring hot spring water for the bathhouse.

The forge is the vault's heart and its temple. The head craftpriest works the forge as part of his sacred duties - he is also the head smith in most cases.(edited)

They tend to be independent; dwarves in my setting once ruled over a kingdom, Muspelheim, which had both a dwarven and a human population. Most of Muspelheim is now the domain of beastmen; only a few independent vaults remain in the south of Muspelheim.

Once they did pay tribute to kings of Camalynn (a human kingdom). Now Camalynn has fallen into a collection of city-states itself, so the vaults are independent themselves

Dwarves worship the Mastersmith - the one Lawful god who forged the world out of stone and the dwarves from steel. Some rogue theologists claim that the Mastersmith and the (human Lawful god) Conquering Sun are one, but both the Churches and the dwarves deny this. The hammer is the Mastersmith's favored weapon, and favored tool.

Dwarves are the most technologically-advanced race of my setting. They have flintlock firearms while humans have matchlocks; they have all the cool mechanical technology inspired by real-world Song Dynasty China medieval tech (even an Alchemist's Fire double-piston flamethrower). And, of course, automatons. And some lost vaults are rumored to have even higher tech.(edited)

Automatons are the sole monopoly of the Machinist's Guild, which is Dwarven. They guard their technology jealously and enjoy legal protection in most human kingdoms and city-states. They also produce superb versions of technology known to Man, such as clocks and printing presses. A city's Dwarven Quarter, dominated by the Guild, is thus a technological wonder.

Monday, January 14, 2019

More on my Camalynn setting - and now more on lizardmen and anunaki. In 1534 BE (Before Elysia), the Eridan sorcerer-queen Beletseri, ruler of the city of Urun, desired tough, disciplined amphibious troops. She dreamed of conquering entire Erida and the neighboring lands. Since three rivers lie at Erida's heart, the Eridan heartland is swampy - where such troops will grant a significant advantage. Thus she cross-bred lizardmen with men to create lesser anunaki - reptilian soldiers combining lizardman resilience with human cunning and discipline. As their elite shock-troops, she cross-bred lesser anunaki with drakes (sub-sentient relatives of dragons) to create the winged greater anunaki capable of flight.

As things like this usually go, the anunaki soon rebelled, killed Beletseri, and embarked on their own campaign of conquest. They conquered Erida's heartland and extended their empire as far as Qedem. There they ruled with an iron fist for a millennium, until a successful slave rebellion in 470 BE returned Erida into human hands and slew most anunaki.

The remaining anunaki scattered; centuries of inbreeding between themselves, as well as breeding with swamp lizardmen, diluted their blood. Many degenerated into Chaotic lizardmen - twice as tough as ordinary lizardmen, cannibalistic, but lacking the cunning of a true anunaki. A few remained in secluded colonies. Chaotic lizardmen will see a lesser anunaki as a born king and a greater anunaki as a god. Ordinary lizardmen will view both as demons.

Sunday, January 13, 2019

The main question - how do you go from the dying Elysian Empire of EY516 (EY = Elysian Year) to the large city-states of EY1666 Camalynn?

Camalynn, inspired by England and with some inspiration from Russia and the Scandinavian countries as well, at least culturally and in terms of naming conventions, was united in EY534 by the former Elysian soldier, turned popular general Aeron Dragonshield, who became King Aeron I.

Aeron I and his immediate descendants fought against the Wolf Horde - the Chaotic berserker armies of Outer Kvenland and their lycanthrope and beastman allies.

Aeron III struck the killing blow against Chaotic Kvenland in EY 591, slaying the dread Werewolf King, Rolf Redtooth and routing the Wolf Horde. This led to an uprising of the Kvenlander population, which was Neutral for the most part, against their Chaotic overlords.

Camalynn was always a bastion of the austere, zealous Grey Church, as the power behind Aeron Dragonshield's rise to power was the Grey Church's Matriarch Vindicta (nothing makes a 9th level fighter's life easier than alliance with a politically savvy, highly popular 13th level priestess). The older Bright Church was, and is, always present but always as a secondary power.

Fast forward several centuries, and Camalynn began developing as an imperial power of its own, eclipsing its neighbors Leoneis and Rayanes. Around EY1200, it even began conquering offshore lands to the far west, and at its height, it reigned over Leoneis as well.

But all fell apart in the Bastard War.

King Alfred II of Camalynn died in EY1388 without legitimate issue. He had, however, two illegitimate sons - Gunnar the Bastard, born from his unlawful relationship with a kitchen maid, and Albert the Hunchback, born from incest between the King and his sister.

Albert the Hunchback was the eldest, and with better pedigree (born from the union of a King and a Princess, no less), but incest is considered an abomination by the Grey Church, so Matriarch Gloria III refused to anoint him and instead blessed his half-brother, Gunnar the Bastard.

Albert, with his eyes set on the throne, traveled all the way to far Elysia to be blessed by the Bright Church's Pontifex.

Each claimant to the throne had several prominent noble houses behind him, as well as the blessing of a Church.

Thus began the fratricidal Bastard War. It combined religious strife with personal and family ambitions, a deadly combination for the kingdom and many of its residents.

This also spilled over into a religious conflict in neighboring kingdoms.

Both Gunnar the Bastard and Albert the Hunchback fell in the Battle of Darkford in EY1399. Legend has it that they struck each other in an epic duel, but in reality, Gunnar the Bastard was killed by a cannonball - a recent innovation - while Albert was slain by an errant arrow. Both died without issue.

The remaining noble houses tried to claim the empty throne but none had a strong legitimate claim to it. Thus, they continued the war for half a century. This war engulfed Camalynn, Kvenland, Leoneis, and Rayanes and had, in addition to the machinations of nobles hungry for thrones, a strong sectarian religious element.

The war ended with the exhaustion of all belligerents, and wide devastation of the lands, with the Peace of Mont Rayenn in EY1444, signed by the remaining noble houses and both Churches.

Each House retained its holdings, but none gained the throne. All parties agreed not to crown a king over Camalynn except by agreement of a majority of the noble houses. The other kingdoms, where there were legitimate heirs to the thrones, were restored. Both churches recognized each other's legitimacy and were allowed to operate without restriction across Camalynn and its neighbors.

Recovery, fueled by recent technological advances, focused on Camalynn's major cities, each a seat of a Great House.

Thus, contemporary (EY1666) Camalynn is a land of city-states, most ruled by Princes, and one by a Senate after overthrowing its Prince.

And the Throne sits empty. None has a strong enough legitimate claim to it to convince the noble houses to enthrone him.

But "someone" (read: power-hungry PCs) could, "theoretically", force the noble houses to elect him/her as a Monarch by force of arms!

Saturday, January 12, 2019

I've started working on my setting for ACKS, in which I intend to run various modules from Barrowmaze to Stonehell (and my own Dark Inheritance mini-campaign). The basic concept is an Early Modern-ish former kingdom now broken into several warring city-states following a nasty succession struggle.

As this is a strictly non-commercial setting, I can borrow from any source I want, with attribution, of course. So the setting has a Barrowmoor and a Stonehell Dungeon on its map, where I intend to run these respective dungeons.

So, without further ado, is the first work-in-progress of the Camalynn map.

Saturday, January 5, 2019

I am working now on a new project: Sword of Cepheus. This will be an all-out, no holds barred, sword & sorcery role-playing game based on Stellagama Publishing's Cepheus Light ruleset. Built as a toolkit, it will allow the Referee to build her own badass sword & sorcery setting!

Skyship-riding lizardfolk pillaging villages. A sorcerer in a flying saucer blasting his enemies with the power of his mind. A muscled barbarian wields a star-sword against the local tyrant’s thugs. A secret cabal of psions plotting to control the minds and souls of kings. A modern-day Earthman finding himself on a savage alien planet. A gladiator who freed himself from slavery wanders the land, righting wrongs and smashing villains. Big muscles, big swords, eldritch sorcery, powers of the mind, alien beasts, and remnant super-technology. From Burroughs to Howard to Moorcock to Italian Peplum films to those dreaming of outlandish post-apocalyptic worlds, heroes raise swords against corrupt nobles, inexplicable sorcerers, and alien monstrosities.

Mechanics, as in Cepheus Light, will be traditional 2D6 skill-based, with procedural character generation, straightforward task resolution, and personal and chase-based naval (and skyship!) combat. It will also contain rules for eldritch sorcery, psionics, a collection of fantastic alien beasts with a Lovecraftian flare, detailed low-tech and supertech equipment, and rules for what happens when your savage barbarian encounters magic or technology beyond anything he has ever imagined.

There are three main themes to Sword of Cepheus: Gritty Heroism, Dark Sorcery, and an Open World.

Gritty Heroism means that a skilled character is well above a normal man in power and ability. An expert swordsman (Melee-3) in good armor can best and defeat many lesser warriors in armed confrontation. He will parry their weapons and strike true at their bodies. With a good Tactics skill, he will also act well before them. However, he is still mortal. An ambush, a sneak attack, poison, or other underhanded tactics will put him in grave peril. A lucky arrow can still strike him, though good armor will mitigate part of the impact. Tactics and strategy matter. Even a so-called "high level" character must think before he acts, and lesser foes can still fell him if they play their cards right.

Dark Sorcery implies that magic is unreliable, and so are "magic items" and supertech. Psionics are safer but much weaker in most cases. Any spell can fail, and any ritual has a certain risk of dire consequences. Using black magic - such as necromancy - corrupts the sorcerer. There are no teleporting supermen throwing fireballs around in Sword of Cepheus. Rather, there are sorcerers weaving subtler spells and conducting risky arcane rituals. The same goes to monsters - while often easier (on paper) to slay than those of traditional D20 games, they pose a serious danger to those who try to confront them - even skilled heroes.

The worlds of adventure Sword of Cepheus envisions are Open Worlds. The world does not scale with the characters; a moderately skilled character can try and tackle horrible monsters, at a serious risk, while an expert adventurer can still face a challenge against "weaker" foes. The players chose the risk level; there are no scaling "challenge ratings" here. This also means that lightly or moderately skilled characters can adventure, shoulder to shoulder, with highly experienced veterans, and still make a difference both in combat and outside it without being totally overshadowed by their expert peers.

Sunday, December 30, 2018

I have more or less completed the Dark Nebula astrography and map after re-reading the Aslan and Droyne alien modules. In addition to completing the starports and bases for all worlds, Aslan and Dryone included, I have also added trade routes.

Note that Mizah is the only Rich world in the Dark Nebula - I have downgraded its population to 8 so that there will be one Rich world on the map. It also fits my view of Mizah as an aristocratic "Casablanca" and neutral player better than an industrial world.

Also note that the trade routes are mostly within the two main polities. These are from Industrial worlds to Asteroid, Desert, Ice-Capped, and Non-Industrial worlds within 4 parsecs from them; and from the Rich world (Mizah) to the nearby agricultural world (Gazzain). I have also connected Mizah and Gazzain to the main Solomani trade network.

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